The Department of Urban Planning is continuing a research exchange agreement with China’s leading urban planning agency, the China Academy of Urban Planning and Design (CAUPD). Under this agreement the Department of Urban Planning hosts seven to ten managers and senior staff from CAUPD each year. These visiting affiliates attend courses on physical planning and urban design and audit and participate in other classes offered by the UCLA Department of Urban Planning.

The intent of the program is to foster a long and productive relationship between the professional and academic planning communities of UCLA and CAUPD and between China and the United States.

As an additional part of this exchange program, the CAUPD provides scholarships for Urban Planning MA students to work in China. Students are selected to work in Beijing with the staff of the CAUPD for up to three months between June and December and they may travel elsewhere in China depending on the projects they work on. Projects may be in developed or undeveloped regions of China, in a metropolis or small town, including rural areas. The country has about 100 cities with populations over a million, all growing and transforming rapidly. The students may earn independent study course credit and room and board is provided by the CAUPD.